I caught this late last night and wanted to mention it. New Scientist brings word (Link) that genetically modified viruses may someday be used to assemble themselves into electronic components. From the article:

Researchers in the US have created viruses that automatically coat themselves in metals and line up head to tail to form an efficient battery anode – the negatively charged component that channels electrons to generate current. These nanowires could be used to make revolutionary new forms of lithium-ion batteries, the researchers say.

I was recently talking to someone about rapid-manufacturing and how there were some limitations – specifically with regard to electronic components. That may no longer be an issue.
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I notice Terra Nova has resurrected the virtual property issue (Link), based on the same XBox 360 virtual property/market situation I previously mentioned (reLink). The debate levels keep rising, yet some of the same limited arguments continue as if videogames and virtual worlds exist in a vacuum (I guess to some degree it makes sense that some people feel that way).

Terra Nova at least has been a source of some excellent commentary. In particular, I enjoyed reading Ashok‘s comments. Here’s a few excerpts:

There are two questions involved in the more general topic of law and virtual/real assets:

1. How does, or how will, law treat such assets?
2. What do we make of popular perception?
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Remember my post one year ago with the link to a bunch of polybot videos including one riding a tricycle (reLink)? Well, here’s another video to add to those.

This one is labeled a “self-replicating repairing robot”. From the YouTube blurb: “Engineers at Cornell University have designed this odd-looking machine that can rebuild itself and also could perform repairs on itself.”

Fun. Now imagine if that thing was a kirkyan as mentioned in comments from an earlier entry (reLink).

As mentioned recently (reLink), the piracy of virtual goods has once again become an issue in the virtual world of Second Life. The current discussion surrounds the lucrative skin trade (I had to say that). As most people familiar with this topic know, textures for avatars (aka “skins”) generate quite a bit of real world profit for their creators; reportedly more than $50k/year for the more talented and enterprising among them. So the emergence of the OGLE videostream capture tool was bad news for quite a number of content creators. I’ve even been told by an acquaintance working in Hollywood computer-generated special effects that manufacturer NVidia is concerned about the development. For some background and some relevant comments having to do with OGLE and Second Life, you might want to read a previous entry (reLink).

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The Second Life Future Salon blog posts (Link) that Discovery Communications will be streaming video content into Google Earth. From the PRPressWire announcement the site references:

Discovery Communications today announced the availability of Discovery’s world-class video content on Google Earth, Google’s satellite imagery-based mapping product that combines 3D buildings and terrain with mapping capability and Google search. For the first time, Discovery will provide streaming video on Google Earth for locations around the world including popular destinations, historic sites and natural wonders, among others.

I would have thought Google would be streaming from their own video service offerings first. Then you could have people uploading videos of car chases in LA and viewers could be more immersed in the action and the buzz would be all over the MSM and then…